Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill Reflect On Final ‘Doctor Who’

The question for months has been how will “Doctor Who” write out some of its longest and most favorite Companions Amy and Rory when the Tardis shows up in New York this weekend?

Don’t ask Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, because they’re not telling. In fact, when Airlock Alpha asked them how they will exit at San Diego Comic-Con in July, Gillan had just one thing to say: “It’s epic. It’s brilliant. It will not disappoint.”

Yet, if Gillan has to deal with yet another death of her on-screen husband Rory, she’ll have to pull deep into her acting talents to find the right reaction. Mostly because Darvill’s character has died so many times on the show, some are wondering if it set a television record.

“It means I have to think of a new death reaction every single time,” Gillan told Airlock Alpha and Cox Media’s The Pointe, adding jokingly, “I just want some sympathy.”

The journey for both Gillan and Darvill has been a long one, and may have been the most difficult since the series was revived in 2005. Not only were they coming in as new companions, but they were joining a new Doctor as well.

“I remember we never showed [the first episode] to anyone outside of the people who worked on it, and then we did this screening for people and it was all press,” Gillan said. “It can be really scary, because they can be so judgmental. But afterward, immediately, they were like, ‘We love it,’ and it was a real triumphant moment.”

Darvill said he’s proud of the character Rory, especially as someone no one ever figured would have such a key role in the series.

“We snuck in the back door with Rory,” he said. “When he first appeared, we were not for sure he was going to come back.”

But he did come back, and evolved quite a bit, especially once he became “Rory the Roman.”

“He’s come from being fairly awkward to having those more heroic moments in a slightly awkward way,” Darvill said. “What a great thing to have.”

As for the final episode, which airs this weekend, Gillan warns that fans should have tissues ready. During the table read of the epsiode, the actress said that everyone turned up.

“It was quite a big event, we knew it was going to be our last episode,” Darvill said.

“And all the women in the room were crying,” Gillan said. “It was really funny.”

“Doctor Who” airs its final episode before the Christmas special Saturday on both BBC and BBC America. To see the complete video of the interview with Gillan and Darvill from Comic-Con, click here.

San Diego Comic-Con coverage on Airlock Alpha is brought to you exclusively by Roddenberry.com.